Sociale Bar & Grille

Theres this thing Filipinos say to poke fun at anyone who exhumes «fanciness» or «high maintenance». We say «Ay…SOCIAAAALLEEE!!!»
Anyways, I came here for a b-​day party and at 10pm the place was beaming with patrons. You might not notice it from the first floor which seemed a bit empty, but the basement was packed with people gyrating hips to «GASOLINA» (where I got impromptue salsa lesson ;))and making friendly with each other.
Their drink prices were the usual range for lounge and clubs, meaning that you should probably do some pre-​drinking elsewhere unless you feel like dropping $ 50 – 60 bucks here just to get a buzz. But it takes skill to be a real party animal, and I tell you, its all about soaking in the energy of the place. Getting in isn’t painful either, my friend Rose said they were super friendly when it came to calling for guest list and when I came late past their guest list time, they were nice enough to let me through.
I’d like to come back and try the menu here someday!

My preferred place next door kicked us out, so we sauntered over to Sociale.
I dont know what to think of this place. Honestly, it is nothing to write home about.
We were a large group, sitting upstairs. We all ordered off the drinks menu, which was pretty overpriced. The drinks were alright. The waitress looked like she was just a patron at the bar: dressed casually, talking casually, not really very professional. Odd, since this place has the looks of an upscale establishment, and the prices are not cheap either.
Another thing that was odd was how ‘dead’ the upstairs was. It was a Friday night, so I would expect a bigger crowd, but not so.
Anyway, we headed downstairs to the dance floor, which now looked like a far cry from the ‘upscale’ look of the upstairs. This floor looked a bit like those half-​arsed empty spaces that many ‘bars’ try to pass up as a ‘dancefloor’. It was not pretty, and it was not ugly. There were guys dressed sharply and looking a bit confused, and there were girls dressed up trying to drag their friends on to the dance floor. The whole thing was odd because the setting was more kind-​of-​casual-​yet-​lets-​not-​forget-​we-​are-​at-​Sociale kind of deal. It all seemed very out of place. There were several smaller tables people were standing at. The music was fine, and the atmosphere left way too much to be desired.
Not a fan. If I want to go casual, I’ll go to a casual place. If I want to dress up, I’ll go to a fancier place. Sociale was a dry, confused scenario. Probably will not be my first (or second) choice of destination on my next night out.
²⁄₃₀

Last week, a couple of co-​workers and I went over to Sociale for lunch. We sat in the basement. Yes, it does feel like a basement, a bit dark and everything seemed to be grey in color. They did have these cool ceiling fans unlike anything I’ve seen. It was this swinging thing that had a fan on each end. Rather unusual but a conversation piece.
The hostess seated us and our waitress came over to take our drink order. I forgot the name of the champagne-​like drink my friend and I ordered but it was real nice. Came with a strawberry on the rim. I had the grilled chicken salad which I thought was fantastic. I would rate it ⁸⁄₁₀. One of my co-​workers had the butternut squash soup and said it was great. The portions were a good size but the prices aren’t cheap here.
The two things I was disappointed in were the service and the fact this place doesn’t have debit. Helloo??? For goodness sake, Subway and McDonald’s have debit. What’s up with Sociale? Our waitress wasn’t very attentive. She spent most of her time on another table and only came by ours when the meal was over. However, we did have the manager come by to see how everything was.
I doubt I’ll be back here any time soon just because it’s a little too pricey for what you actually get. There are better places out there.

I took clients here for a lunch a couple of weeks ago. Their oven was down, so we weren’t able to have sandwiches or flatbreads, so we all ordered entrees. I had the chorizo salmon and it was fabulous! We all really enjoyed our meals, and it was a great atmosphere for a business lunch. I will definitely bring clients back here, and would love to check it out in the evenings!

This place is nt a bad place to try. Drinks were good and the food (appetizers like oyster, shrimp) was also good. We booked a place for party and also the DJ was playing the songs we asked for. Enjoyed it.
It is busy during the weekend nights.

The atmosphere, gorgeous. The drinks, refreshing. The food, a play with my tastebuds.
I stopped in at Sociale last Thursday for a bite and some drinks. I ordered the Swizzle (Bombay sapphire gin, limoncello and soda shaken with sugar and lime) to drink and a BBQ pork flatbread. The Swizzle was most refreshing! There was just enough sugar to make the drink sweet, but not overpowering. The flatbread was also quite delicious. The pork was more like Asian BBQ pork and the touch of cilantro on top added just the right sprig of freshness.
Aside from the food, the décor is also quite nice. How does one explain it exactly? I want to call it modern Victorian, though I wouldn’t know Victorian from any other old era. So maybe a modern elegance is a better way to put it? The large gilded mirror behind the bar was a highlight for me.
There are two floors to Sociale, but they limit use to only the upstairs on weekdays. There aren’t a whole lot of tables available, but you can fit a couple of groups of people in and amongst some of the smaller tables. It’s a fun spot for an after work drink. They’ll even take reservations.
The one big downer here is that they don’t take debit. There’s a cash machine in the corner (with a $ 2.95 price tag on cash withdrawals). I understand having a cash machine available for the night time crowds, but for your regular hours folks? Come on. Star lost right there.
Oh, and Thursday happy hour specials: $ 4.25 for domestic beers, $ 3 off martinis and half-​price flatbreads.

Well, it was nice to finally get out to an event and meet Wendy P… once we found her!
Sociale is a nice little space next to the Grand Theatre in the historic Lougheed building. The main floor is rather small, but comfortable. There is a downstairs section, though they don’t really have enough staff to open it during the week. The feeling I got is that it becomes a night club on weekend evenings/​nights.
The menu seems nice, and is available online. We had one of the flatbreads — the vegetarian one — which was delicious! Wendy also had a flatbread that she thoroughly enjoyed. The happy hour specials are quite reasonable, though the menu prices are a bit high for my current liking. $ 12.75 for a cocktail seems a bit much. Even the happy hour price of $ 9.75 is a bit high, though somewhat better.
All-​in-​all this was a nice place. I would have given it four stars, but, when Wendy went to pay, we found there is no Interac/​debit. That is a major convenience that certainly warrants a one-​star demotion.
Check it out. You’re sure to have some delicious libations, nosh, and (hopefully) companionship.

Went back today for lunch. We ordered the Lamb Shoulder — OMG! So good, so tender, the lamb could be cut with a fork. Came with baby gourmet carrots, green beans, tomato, lemon gnocchi, with a litle sauce. Great combination to compliment the lamb.
Dessert — Rosemary Apple Tart — OMG to the nth power!
I’ll be back!

Great nightlife, don’t miss this!

This restaurant is getting 1 star only because there isn’t the option for anything lower.
We arrived at 7pm to a nice lounge/​bistro atmosphere. We were promptly informed that they were short staffed at the bar and to order our drinks well ahead of time. With only 30 – 40 patrons this seemed a little silly but we made sure we ordered our drinks early.
The menu was simple and everything sounded good. Our table ordered the Charcuterie and it was small and flavourless. The cheese plate was nothing special, but the Mezze plate was pretty good. The lamb and salmon entrée’s were good but again nothing particularly special. Overall the food was average and overpriced.
The service was horrific. Our waitress could not remember our orders and had to ask us who needed steak knives or spoons for soup. I asked for a glass for my beer which never arrived and dishes were not cleared for quite a while. In all the poor service overwhelmed us to the point that it became our main conversational focus for the entire evening.
As the evening progressed, the lights dimmed and the music volume increased. This was turning into a bar/​nightclub and the average age plummeted to people in their very early 20’s. Needless to say the once pleasing space became a dark and loud nightmare.
I like to give restaurants a few chances to redeem themselves, but I doubt I will ever return.